Eastleigh, Southampton & Fair Oak Shotokan Karate Club

15/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/17o9JYo4qm/

03/01/2026

A comment on one of my articles suggested that Western students want answers immediately, whereas the Japanese are prepared to wait patiently for a ‘lightbulb moment’.
In other words, understanding should come to us in its own time, and until then we simply repeat.
There is some truth in this, but it is often misunderstood. While patience and repetition were valued, function was not always explicitly explained, and understanding was expected to emerge through guided experience within a close teaching environment that no longer exists.
While I agree that in the West we can be impatient, I believe the simplified version of this idea is precisely how misconceptions get passed from generation to generation.
As an example. It is how, for decades, practitioners have been taught to see many techniques as nothing more than ‘blocks’. Movements are misread so badly that they only make sense within choreography, disconnected from purpose, context, or function.
I dislike this way of teaching. It isn’t deep, and it certainly isn’t wise. It’s lazy, and it does nothing to help the student.
Of course there are stages to learning. Each stage matters, and understanding develops over time. But deliberately withholding explanations under the excuse that the student must wait for a ‘lightbulb moment’ is absurd.
Would you teach someone to drive forward only, until one day the ‘lightbulb moment’ magically tells them that reversing is also an option?
This example is obviously ridiculous. Yet the same logic is regularly defended in martial arts instruction.
Yes, genuine moments of insight happen. They always have, and always will. But those moments come from guided practice, not from enforced ignorance. Repeating something without understanding does not lead to clarity. It simply hardens misunderstanding.
Practice matters. Time matters. Experience matters.
But so does teaching.
Karate is no different. Kata, drills, and repetition are not puzzles designed to be endured until enlightenment arrives. They are teaching tools, created to transmit understanding, not obscure it.
Insight comes through informed practice, correction, and context, not silence. When explanations are withheld in the name of tradition, the student does not gain depth. They inherit confusion, dressed up as wisdom.
And when ideas like this are repeated without examination, they stop being insight and start becoming excuses.
Written by Adam Carter - Shuri Dojo

22/12/2025

Its the final class of the year tonight .....

We look forward to seeing you all for the final session of the year ..... and look forward to seeing last weeks graders in their new belts

As with any activity martial arts can sometimes feel like a slow moving process or even a constant battle with dead ends or minimal returns .....

There is a reason its described as a journey ....not becausec it sounds mystical or whatever its because it takes time its a marathon not a sprint .....

In iains excellent video he looks at the common physical and mental struggles all in the martial artists go through even if they wont admit it no matter how experienced or senior grade from 9th kyu to 9th dan

So when reflecting on the last year and the lows stand side by side with the highs renember its not just you its all of us ..... and its perfectly normal and ok ...its part of what we do....

https://iainabernethy.com/ In this video I discuss three things that can hamper your progress and enjoyment of the martial arts. These are mindset issues tha...

08/12/2025

Great piece well worth a brief moment of your time ...... and links well to what we often talk about in in class when talking about our approach to kata application

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
One of the most widespread, yet erroneous, interpretations in Karate practice concerns the meaning of directions in kata. It is often stated that moving along the eight directions symbolizes fighting against multiple opponents surrounding us. However, the great masters of the past agree in defining this view as nonsensical and technically limiting.

MABUNI'S CRITIQUE
Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of Sh*tō-ryū, addressed this issue with extreme clarity in his 1938 book, Kōbō jizai goshin kenpō Karate-Dō Nyūmon. He harshly criticized the idea that a kata developed along eight directions served to fight eight opponents, defining such an interpretation as highly unreasonable.
Analyzing the Pinan/Heian kata, Mabuni warns that their literal interpretation (e.g., "I turn left because the enemy is on the left," "I turn back because there is an enemy behind") would render the art 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. For Mabuni, there is only one plausible meaning: the directions of the kata do not indicate where the enemy is, but teach how to get out of the frontal line of attack by moving sideways to gain an advantageous position.

MIYAGI'S WARNING
Mabuni was not alone in this analysis. Miyagi Chōjun, founder of Gōjū-ryū, also warned practitioners in his Kaisai no genri ("Theory for deciphering [kata]"):

"Do not be deceived by the enbusen, i.e., the line/direction of ex*****on along which the various techniques of the kata are developed."

"There is only one opponent, and he is in front of us. In kata, we turn in many directions along the lines of the enbusen, so we tend to believe that kata is a situation where a karateka fights against multiple opponents simultaneously: this is not so. In principle, we should consider the imaginary opponent to always be in front."

Master Motobu Chōki, known for his pragmatic approach to kumite, was entirely aligned with this perspective. He reiterated the same concept regarding the Naihanchi/Tekki kata: despite the lateral movement, there are no enemies to our side.

CONCLUSION
In light of these indisputable sources, insisting on explaining kata as a simulated fight against a circle of attackers is not just a technical error. It is an 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 and 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 view, which ends up ridiculing kata itself, transforming what should be a sophisticated manual of tactics and strategy into a fanciful choreography devoid of any real martial logic.

PS: The photo shows the original page from Mabuni's book, in relation to the cited passage.

27/11/2025

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can manifest in communication issues, behavioural problems, difficulties with social norms along with many others.
Working as a sports lecturer I have witnessed many cases of students with ASD that struggle in the classroom, but get them in the gym or sports hall and they thrive. They are focussed, they work well and they listen! So, I wondered whether Karate with its fairly ordered regimen, hierarchy and discipline could be a useful tool for someone with ASD.

The strongest evidence comes from a Systematic Review (SR) and another Meta-Analysis (MA) (both gold standards of high quality research) conducted relatively recently. The SR (Amonkar et al., 2021) of 72 studies (1,939 participants) across participants with ASD ranging from 3 to 65 years of age and the MA (Hou et al., 2024) of 16 studies on social interaction skills and various physical activities.

Conclusion - there are medium-to-large improvements in motor and cognitive skills and small-to-large sized improvements in social communication skills following martial arts training and a large amount of improvement on social interaction skills following Karate training; while a combined sport programme showed the least improvement.

For the full referenced blog including other studies follow the link below.

Phill

Karate & ASD

25/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AW6wQdksi/

(Approx 2 minute 40 second read)

I’ve taught quite a few people over the last 50 years or so that I have been involved in the martial arts. By now, regulars to my Page, and even those who aren’t, can probably tell that I prefer my karate to be practical and pragmatic.
Sometimes those people I have taught say how they never realized what something meant, how it worked like that, or they didn’t understand its depth.
However, I noticed that afterwards they would revert back to their way. Whether that was sport or a traditional method. Pragmatism being left behind.
The teaching I did, whether through seminars or in their dojo, was accepted well at the time, many questions being asked, and enthusiasm running high.
But sometimes there are others, with the dogma and cult-like groups they belong to, you can see the lack of interest. You can see it in their eyes their facial expression their body movements their words and tone. They can’t hide it. They think you don’t notice but you do.
It doesn’t matter how convincing they try and be, their movement lets you know that they don’t want to change. They will forever be stuck in their ways. They won’t change, why should they. Their interest is in themselves. It is the ego. The narcissism, the overconfidence, that keeps them locked in, mind closed. Their way.
It makes me wonder why did they ask for the teaching in the first place if they had no intention of allowing at least some of it to permeate.
If you’re stuck in your ways like this how can anyone expect to learn anymore? Just because your style is meant to be the ‘Cadillac’ of the martial arts, as someone once put it, doesn’t mean even they can’t learn anymore.
In my fifty plus years, I know I can still learn. And I enjoy doing so. I remain in contact with those of much higher experience than me. It doesn’t matter what grade you are or what style you follow, someone will always show you something different that may be of interest that you can add to your repertoire. Why wouldn’t you want to do that?
Over the years I’ve learned that the ones who make real progress aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones willing to question themselves. The ones who can put their pride aside long enough to see that their karate isn’t perfect, that no one’s is. Those people improve quickly because they’re not chained to an identity. They’re not terrified of being wrong.
When someone clings to dogma, it’s not the art they’re protecting, it’s themselves. Their image. Their status. Their comfort. Letting go of that would mean admitting that years of training might not have been as complete as they thought. That’s a difficult thing for some people to accept. Easier to just smile politely, nod, and carry on as if nothing was said.
But karate was never supposed to be about comfort. Tradition doesn’t mean imitation. It means understanding what came before, stripping away what doesn’t hold up, and keeping what actually works in the context you’re training in. That mindset is what built the old systems in the first place. Somewhere along the way many forgot that.
I still meet people who surprise me. People who have been training a shorter time than I have, but who show me something I hadn’t thought about. That’s the beauty of this path. You either stay open or you stop moving. The day you think you’ve learnt it all is the day you start going backwards.
If your ego can’t take being corrected, that’s your barrier, not the art itself. And barriers like that only ever serve one purpose, to stop you from seeing what’s right in front of you.
Written by Adam Carter - Shuri Dojo

30/10/2025

This is one of the best and most simple ways of explaining the use of kata..... And points out the obvious traps most people fall in to when looking at application

(Approx 2 minute 40 second read)

How do we use kata effectively?
I don’t mean the bunkai demonstrations you see at tournaments and in some dojo where you are attacked from many different angles by many people. I’m talking about real effective defense.
Someone recently asked me a simple question: “How do you extract the combative information from kata when no one really knows what it was meant to do? Wouldn’t everyone have different interpretations?”
It’s a fair question. No one does know exactly. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we use simple common sense to answer simple questions.
If you want to analyze kata in a more practical way, begin with a couple of ideas.
To extract the information you want from kata it's vital to understand the principles upon which it’s based, and the likely attacks you will face. Remember that they are unlikely to be karate-style attacks.
Two fundamental combative principles must always be observed: keeping everything as simple as possible, and seizing and maintaining the initiative.
Ignoring these principles could lead to giving your opponent the advantage, exactly the situations kata are meant to help you avoid.
Firstly, when fighting, the adrenaline dump may reduce your body's ability to utilize fine-motor skills. Hence, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to apply overly complex movements. Let’s remove any thoughts of using these types of techniques… just yet.
Secondly, keep your number of initial responses to an absolute minimum. If you’ve learned many different responses to a given situation, I’ve written about this previously, by the time you decide which one to use, the situation may have changed and you could be in serious trouble. Adapt a small number of movements rather than remember countless ones.
The problems begin with what most people interpret, at the beginning of kata, as a block and counter of some sort.
Think about that for a moment… Are you preparing to take control, or just practicing how to fall behind?
That tendency to be overly defensive must be avoided. When fighting, it’s important to act decisively.
The phrase “karate ni sente nashi” is often misinterpreted as a call to always wait and defend, when in reality it refers to avoiding unjustified aggression, not to hesitating in the face of imminent threat.
In the moments before the ‘fight’, a well-practiced preemptive strike is a good option. Waiting may be too late.
Remember that action is always faster than reaction. In a real fight you must never allow the opponent to gain the advantage. You must be the one who takes control of the situation and not simply “respond” to your opponent's actions.
From this shift in understanding we can see that waiting, then blocking and countering, is not the answer.
We have a far greater need for defense against wild swings, head butts, grabs, tackles etc. With the vast majority of real fights taking place at close range, the majority of applications are also for use at that distance.
To begin understanding kata applications, use common-sense principles to define how you need to react if the altercation turns physical.
Even from this subtle but necessary change, we can determine that kata provides instruction on a small number of key concepts. They don’t give a technique for every conceivable situation, and trying to apply them that way may actually prevent you from responding quickly and appropriately if it turns ugly.
It’s far better to know little, very well, than to know a great deal superficially.
So, to answer the question at the start of this article: this approach, grounded insight built on common sense and functional application, is how kata deliver their answers.
They only reveal their lessons when you stop looking for techniques, and start understanding purpose.
Written by Adam Carter - Shuri Dojo

19/10/2025

Karate and...
Mental health (1 min read)

Note: For the complete blog along with references see link at the end.

The effects of Karate and Martial Arts (MA) on health have been fairly well researched, but the effects on mental health less so. We know that physical activity can help with depression, anxiety, and wellness, so anecdotally and from opinion, it would seem likely that MA and subsequently Karate would help, but does it really?
A meta-analysis analysing 14 studies found that MA has a small positive effect on wellness and feelings of wellbeing, a moderate effect in reducing mild depression and anxiety, but did not show an effect in reducing aggression with some studies showing negative results.
Having said that, a 2024 study found positive outcomes in behavioural measures that include aggression and defiance in school children.
Another controlled study comparing a Shotokan Karate group with a Mindfulness stress reduction group and a control group showed an improvement for the karate group, but not the MBSR and control group, in subjective mental health and anxiety as well as cognitive processing speed. Another 2025 study found positive effects on self-esteem, anxiety, anger, fatigue and confusion-perplexity from Karate training.
So, returning to my original question “does it really?” - YES, Karate seems to positively affect mental health. (although, it may be ill-advised when thinking about adults with aggressive tendencies.)

The complete blog including references can be found at
https://www.eastleighkarate.com/karate-and/mental-health .kmzooyrbmrcr

Phill

Karate and Mental health The effects of Karate and Martial arts on health have been fairly well researched, but the effects on mental health less so. We know that physical activity can help with depression, anxiety, and wellness, so anecdotally and from opinion, it would seem likely that Martial

02/08/2025

This article from the excellent shuri dojo maybe of interest to some ..... as its something we have been looking at in class recently

(Approx 2 minute 20 second read)

Imagine a drill that moves away from unrealistic stepping patterns and reflects the closeness of a real-world encounter. You’re not stepping away to avoid an attack - you’re already there, reacting. A drill that forces you to engage, not rehearse. Best of all, even beginners can practice it.
Well, we have that. It’s called kakie.
Kakie (カキエ), often referred to as “pushing hands” or “sticky hands”, is a traditional training method found across several Okinawan karate styles.
Sometimes described as a bridge between basic techniques and free sparring, it sharpens a practitioner's ability to respond to pressure, direction, and intent with sensitivity and precision.
Unlike some other drills, where distance and visual cues dominate, kakie is up close. The emphasis is not on what you see, but on what you feel. You’re training the nervous system, not just the muscles.
The idea is to feel the exchange rather than watch it unfold. You have to rely on your senses, not strength. Openings appear during the flow, and when they do, you strike - not because you saw the chance, but because you sensed it.
At its core, it’s about tactile sensitivity and intuitive response. It teaches you to perceive intent through subtle changes in pressure and tension in your opponent’s body.
While many forms of training include stepping or chase speed and power, kakie encourages you to slow down, to pay attention to the nuances of contact. This kind of work demands a deeper level of awareness - one rooted in connection, not force.
In practice, two practitioners face each other with forearms in contact. From there, they engage in a continuous flow - pushing, yielding, redirecting - without losing touch. At first, it seems cooperative, even gentle. But as control improves, it becomes a testing ground for off-balancing, trapping, striking, and controlling the opponent's limbs. What starts as a simple drill becomes a doorway into close-range fighting.
The constant tactile feedback helps the practitioner understand key principles like balance, posture, timing, and distance.
More importantly, it helps train the mind to stay calm and the body to remain fluid. Kakie reveals the delicate balance between two extremes: if you’re too rigid, you break; if you’re too relaxed, you collapse. The practice forces you to find the sweet spot in between.
It also predates the modern ryu-ha divisions. A holdover from the older Ti traditions, where training emphasized practical, close-in methods like tuidi - seizing, joint-locking, unbalancing, and other painful realities that rarely show up in modern karate.
In many ways, kakie is a reminder that real confrontation often happens within arm’s reach. That sight isn’t always reliable. And that those who learn to feel - who train their senses, not just their techniques - often gain the upper hand in a close-up encounter.
Too often, karateka are conditioned to think in terms of fixed distances, predictable rhythms, and rehearsed sequences. But real encounters rarely follow those rules. They don’t begin at an ideal range or wait for a perfect technique.
Kakie places you in the chaos of that moment - where you're already in contact, already reacting, already committed. It develops an instinct for timing and distance that’s immediate, not theoretical. This is about as close as you’re going to get to what actually happens when things go wrong and space disappears.
Getting in close like this offers a far more realistic sense of timing and distance than what is often quoted to me. And as you’ll discover, the practice can be enjoyable too - fun, challenging, and surprisingly revealing.
Written by Adam Carter - Shuri Dojo
Photo: Two of my students having fun with kakie practice at the Shuri Dojo

20/07/2025

Hikite is often misunderstood ..... and misused .... and iften by nany senior figures within karate ..... shuri dojo have done another great article explaining many of the issues surrounding the common misconceptions regarding hikite and its purpose

(Approx 2 minute 50 second read)

Much of today’s karate comes from the modernization that took place in the early part of the 20th century. Instruction by prominent sensei from the 1960s shaped what many still teach today.
One such method - which I’ve written about extensively - is hikite. - Not again.
Yes, again. Why? Because there’s still so much nonsense surrounding it. People need to think for themselves instead of staying stuck in a time when nobody knew any better.
I remember back in the 1970s being told that you must pull your arm back just as fast as you punch in order to generate maximum power. We did it without question, and it did feel powerful.
And here’s the problem - it does feel powerful. Pulling that arm back sharply does something that tricks you into thinking you’re hitting harder. But it’s an illusion.
So what’s really happening? When you yank your arm back, you tense the muscles through your back and shoulders. You brace your core. The recoil creates a sense of “snap”. It feels strong - but that feeling comes from stiffening the body, not from the pulling hand adding force to the punch like some hidden gear system.
The real power comes from the whole body working together - proper structure, breathing, good body mechanics, and correct timing. This is called the kinetic chain: from the legs, hips, core, shoulders - not just the arms alone. And all of this happens without wasting a free hand doing nothing useful.
Someone very experienced in the martial arts with whom I have a high regard for, recently compared the body to a revolving door - if you push one side, the other side swings round too. I was quite shocked when I read this, to be honest. The human body doesn’t work like this. Comparing us to a revolving door is simply wrong.
There is a well-known diagram in Nakayama’s Dynamic Karate (1966), you can see it here - the human body shown like a rigid system of gears and levers turning on a single axis. It’s easy to see how that image stuck - but it’s not how our bodies actually work.
Yes, we have a spine - a central axis. But unlike a revolving door, each side of the body can work independently.
I don’t need to pull one arm back to push the other forward. It’s a flawed idea - and it’s easy to prove.
Try lifting a dumbbell with one arm powerfully. You don’t need to yank the other arm back to do it. Throw a ball forcefully - same thing. Push a door open with strength - no need to pull the other arm back at all. The list is endless.
That free hand - the hikite - should be doing what it was meant to do: controlling your opponent. Grabbing, pulling, unbalancing, clearing a limb, opening a line for your strike.
Pulling the hand back to the hip in kihon or kata should remind us of that principle - but somewhere along the line, people forgot the point and focused only on the motion.
They taught the how without the why. So now we have generations of people snapping their fists to their hips without ever thinking about what they’re supposed to be doing.
This is what happens when karate is treated like a performance art instead of a method of self-defense. The form survives, but the function is lost.
If you want proof, look at any footage of real life applications. You’ll see hands grabbing collars, wrists, hair - pulling heads down into knees, twisting arms, dragging people off balance. That’s hikite.
It’s not about pulling air. It’s about pulling something.
So yes - here I am again, writing about hikite. And I’ll keep doing it until more people start questioning what they’re doing and why.
If you want your karate to make sense, don’t accept what you’re told at face value. Test it. Feel it. Ask yourself: does this match how the human body actually works - or is it just an idea from a book written over sixty years ago?
It may feel more powerful to pull your hand back - but feeling and function are not the same thing. If you want real power, put that hand to work on what it was meant for: your opponent.
Written by Adam Carter - Shuri Dojo